‘File 28/12 Establishment of Contraband Control Centre’ [89r] (177/256)
The record is made up of 1 file (125 folios). It was created in 5 Oct 1939-4 Jul 1945. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
SECRET.
/oi
x\
©
(Received unaer Governiaent of India endorsement Eo. 1&48-X/43,
dated 17th February 1943.)
Copy of letter Ho.IB/71/42, dated the 5th February,1943,
from the Collector of Salt Revenue, Bombay, to the Under
Secretary to the Government of India, External Affairs Depart
ment , New Delhi.
I place below for your information an extract from a letter
No. I3/8/SG-49, dated the 21st January, 1943, IromHis Britannia
i^esty's Consul for the Portuguese Possessions in India, Nova
Goas-
rt My latest information is that the Hun is endeavouring
to siauggle out drugs concealed in coal and in the hollow of
bamboos. Another trick, a very clever one, which they have
resorted to according to reliable information, is the following.
A young cocoanut whilst still growing on the tree is carefully
operated on and a container with drugs inside is inserted into
the cocoanut and the shell replaced. The wound eventually
recovers and the cocoanut goes on growing with the "parasite"
inside it. I am passing this information on to you as it
seems it might be useful to you and your colleagues, etc. "
2, Information received from the Assistant Collector of Salt
Revenue, Goa Frontier on tne 8th January 1943, showed that an
Arab vessel *Ai3AL BUNO," registered No.776,
Tindal
Non-European boatswain or head of a group of labourers.
SHAHIB
MDHAMED and NAS1R MDHAMED, arrived in Goa and had loaded
charcoal and bamboos for shipment to Basrah. It was suspected
that this Arab vessel had shipped al|ong with its cargo, drugs,
medicines, etc., obtained from the German vessels sheltering
in Mormugao Harbour, with tie object of smuggling them to ports
in tne
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
. This information was communicated to the
Staff Officer, Naval Intelligence, Royal Indian Navy, Bombay,
nfy Intelligence Controlling Officer, tLer took the matter up
and approached the Staff Officer, Naval Intelligence, Bombay,
who informed him that jthfixssiLBxanx. Naval authorities were
unable to intercept the vessel on the high seas and suggested
getting in touch with the Controller of Enemy Trading. The
Controller of Enerpy Trading suggested that the information be
conveyed to the Principal Officer, Mercantile Marine Depart
ment, Bombay. The information was duly communicated and later
conveyed by the Principal Officer, Mercantile Marine Department
Bombay, to the Government of Inaia, Comnerce Department, the
British Consul at Basrah and the Principal Officer, Mercantile
Marine Department, Karachi, for further action.
3. It is now disclosed that the vessel AKBAL BUNG was raided
by the Portuguese Customs authorities before her departure
with the result that the following unmanifested cargo was
found*-
4. The two cases of German drugs and medicines on examination
were found to be stamped with the name V.M. SaLGAONKaR. This
individual opened a general shop at Vasco de-Gama and until
the war broke out he did a small buaness. After this he
managed to get a sub-contract to supply vegetables to the
German vessels sheltering in Mormugao Harbour. It was suspected
for a long time that he had other connections with the Gentians
• • • • •
Arabs - Trading with the Enemy - Mormugao Harbour
Goa, Portuguese India -
• •
1 . 3 rifles and 150 cartridges.
2 . 1 bale silk sarees.
3. 2 large cases of German medicines, drugs and
infections.
/ and
. •.. •
About this item
- Content
The file comprises correspondence and other papers relating to the transport and trade in contraband goods through the Gulf during the Second World War, with particular reference to the trade in goods of enemy origin or destination. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior); the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban; Edward Birkbeck Wakefield; Major Tom Hickinbotham) and the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (including Commodore Cosmo Moray Graham).
The file includes:
- correspondence dated late 1939, relating to a request from the Government of India for information on the trade in wool in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the reply from the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent at Sharjah being that there is no export trade, only a small import trade of goat hair from Persia (ff 3-7);
- correspondence dated 1940, relating to a proposal from the Admiralty for the institution of a Contraband Intelligence Centre in the Gulf, based at Bahrain, and intended to monitor trade outside the Shatt-al-Arab. The proposal is made in response to the completion of the railway line from Istanbul to Basra, and fears that goods could be shipped from the Far East, through the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and onwards overland into Europe (ff 14-30);
- correspondence relating to a number of separate intelligence reports suggesting that various goods, including German dyestuffs and parachute silk, were being traded through the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. for enemy purposes (ff 27-33);
- detention and release in January 1941 of the vessel Puerto Rican at Bahrain (ff 42-49);
- in 1941, correspondence relating to the use of Gulf ports, including Kuwait and Dubai, to re-forward goods to Iraq, Syria and Beirut (ff 51-55);
- in 1942, correspondence marked most secret relating to intercepted messages instructing an increase in rug exports from Dubai, and British suspicions that rugs, not actually exported from Dubai, may be a code for tea, sugar or textiles (ff 57-60);
- correspondence (ff 62-90) relating to intelligence reports that German agents are shipping drugs and other contraband on dhows travelling from Goa to Basra, including reports of specific vessels to be stopped and searched. A copy of a report from the Collector of Salt Revenue at Bombay, dated 5 February 1943 (ff 89-90) provides details of the nature and methods allegedly being used to smuggle contraband through the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ;
- in 1945, correspondence relating to instructions from the Naval Officer-in-Charge at Karachi to stop and search vessels at Gwadar (ff 92-105).
The file notes (ff 116-127) reference correspondence, some of which relates to the import of tea, which is no longer included in the file, having been moved to other files (File 29 War: Food Supplies, IOR/R/15/2/766-794).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (125 folios)
- Arrangement
The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (ff 116-127) mirror the chronological arrangement.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 128; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional incomplete foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-111 and a mixed foliation/pagination sequence is present in the file notes at the back (ff 116-127); these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/698
- Title
- ‘File 28/12 Establishment of Contraband Control Centre’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:45v, 47r:112v, 114r:127v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence